My Art - January Cardmaking

This card features a piece of seed paper which I made myself. I incorporated seeds into a small sheet of handmade paper!! I used a wildflower seed mix available from T&T seeds but if you are wanting to make your own any seeds that are not too bulky can be used. I wanted the seed paper to be easily removeable so I created a tab in the lower right hand corner to tuck it into and then added a flower accent put on with a brad. I included instructions for planting the seed paper so everyone could include them with the card. It is a really fun way to "send flowers by mail"!!!
I created the tab using my SU slot punch. First I used my corner rounder on the corner of the card then put the slot punch over the corner and punched it equidistant from each side. Worked very nicely!! I had tried using the slot punch without first using the corner rounder and it did not punch quite far enough for the seed paper sheet to be centered on the card front. When assembling the flower accent it was best to glue all the elements to each other before putting in the large brad. It is frustrating to have all the elements lined up and have them move in the process of adding the brad. Another card that gives a little more and just the thing for spring birthdays for the gardeners on your list.

Speaking of lists - if you want to stay ahead of the cards you need for family and friends a birthday calendar is the perfect thing. It has a page for each month and a list of each day. You simply add the names and occassion by each day as appropriate. For example on February 14 - Valentine's Day card for DH. It stays the same year after year and you can keep adding to it as the years go by. If you add the year as well, you can also stay aware of the special occasions like a fortieth birthday or a fiftieth anniversary. My birthday calendar is actually a word processing document which I print up at the beginning of the year that lists months and day along with the names and occasions and dates if I know them. As the year goes by I highlight the names as I send the cards and add, by hand, the new ones I want to add. At a moment's notice I can see the cards I will be needing in the next month. At the end of the year I update my electronic file with the additions and print off a new one for the new year. In the end, it is important to use the tools that work best for you. I find it helpful when others share how they manage their lives because it sometimes provides inspiration for me to update or complete revamp what I am doing. It is good to have a process for managing what is important in your life.